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Photograph of Emerson House
Photograph by Magicpiano, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Emerson House

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“The Emerson House is a historic late First Period house in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The oldest part of this wood-frame house was built c. 1730, and contains construction features characteristic of the transition between First and Second Period methods.”

Wikipedia article Emerson House (Haverhill, Massachusetts), CC BY-SA 4.0.

one of 350 National Register listings in Essex County · listed in 1990 · category: Building · one of 2 National Historic Landmarks in Essex County.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 5--9 Pentucket St., Haverhill, 01830
  • When was it listed? 1990-03-09
  • Category. building
  • Also known as. First Period Buildings of Eastern Massachusetts TR
  • Township. Haverhill city
  • Architectural style. American colonial architecture
  • National Register reference number. 90000229 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

21,329 words

The chapter on Haverhill City in The History of Haverhill, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement, in 1640, to the Year 1860, published 1861 names Haverhill. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

From the foregoing lists of names, it will be seen that Haverhill furnished its full proportion of soldiers during the whole of this war. We regret that we cannot give more definite information in regard to the names and number of those killed, wounded, or captured, but the meagreness of the records as to individual histories, and the time which has elapsed since the occurrences took place, have put it beyond our power to do so. We have no doubt that other persons from this town, besides those whose names we have given, were in the service ; but, as the place of residence or enlistment is not always given in the rolls, and as it frequently happened that persons of the same name, but from different towns, were found in those lists where the residence was given, we have found it impossible to obtain a more perfect list. As a specimen of the imperfection of the records, we may cite the fact, that although Dr. James Brickett of this

Passage source: The History of Haverhill, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement, in 1640, to the Year 1860, published 1861.

In July, 1766, Governor Wentworth, of New Hampshire, was appointed by the King " Surveyor General of all "his Majesty's woods in North America," for the purpose of putting into execution the acts of parliament concerning the preservation of " the King's woods from trespass & waste." By these acts, all white pine trees from fifteen to thirty-six inches in diameter, were reserved for the royal navy, and any owner of land, before he commenced cutting, was under the necessity of employing a deputy surveyor to mark the trees upon his land, reserved for the use of the king, and if he neglected to have his land thus surveyed, either from inability to pay for such survey, or other cause, and proceeded to cut his timber, the same was forfeited to the king ! In this way, whole mill-yards of lumber, got out by the settlers for building their houses, and barns, were often forfeited. Seizures were made in all parts of the Province, wherever the pine abounded, and mills had been erected. Samuel Blodget, of Goffstown, was appointed, in February, 1772, deputy surveyor for thirty-one towns in the province of New Hampshire, and the towns of Haverhill, Andover, Dracut, Chelmsford, and Ipswich, in the province of Massachusetts Bay.

Passage source: The History of Haverhill, Massachusetts, from Its First Settlement, in 1640, to the Year 1860, published 1861.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Haverhill City - 21,329 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

82 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 82 fires within 5 miles of Emerson House between 1992 and 2020, burning about 47 acres in total. 1 started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning18
Recreation and ceremony14
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Misuse of fire by a minor12
Smoking7
Equipment and vehicle use6
Railroad operations and maintenance6
Power generation/transmission/distribution4
Arson/incendiarism2
Natural1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
4 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlGROVELAND
27 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlHAVERHILL
25 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlHAVERHILL
23 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 September 2020Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
9 August 2016Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlHAVERHILL
8 August 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlLAWERANCE
8 August 2016Debris and open burning1.5 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlGROVELAND

Every fire recorded in Essex County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,715 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,715 specimens collected within 10 miles of Emerson House between 1800 and 1975: 980 Plantae, 576 Animalia, 147 Fungi, 5 Protozoa, 4 Chromista, 3 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A Brown, A S Gaunt, A. A. Eaton and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Hypnum curvifolium Hedw.Hypnum curvifolium Hedw.1900John W. Huntington
Specimen of Plagiotheciella latebricola (Schimp.) M.Fleisch.Plagiotheciella latebricola (Schimp.) M.Fleisch.1900John W. Huntington
A photograph of the species Rhodobryum roseum, not of this specimenRhodobryum roseum (Hedw.) Limpr.1800J. W. HuntingtonAmesbury
A photograph of the species Lupinus L., not of this specimenLupinus L.1816Boott, F.M.B.Mystic Pond, 6 miles from Boston.
A photograph of the species Viola labradorica, not of this specimenViola labradorica Schrank1816not recordedAndover Turnpike, 6 miles from Boston U.S.A.
A photograph of the species Diphyscium foliosum, not of this specimenDiphyscium foliosum (Hedw.) D.Mohr1822ALCOTT
A photograph of the species Arcyria oerstedii, not of this specimenArcyria oerstedii Rostaf., 18751826F. A. Gilbert
A photograph of the species Dichelyma capillaceum, not of this specimenDichelyma capillaceum (Dicks.) Myrin1833J. W. Huntington
A photograph of the species Dumetella carolinensis, not of this specimenDumetella carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766)1833J.S. AppletonWest Newbury
A photograph of the species Cyathus striatus, not of this specimenCyathus striatus Willd.1853not recordedAndover, Mass. [Massachusetts]
A photograph of the species Isopterygiopsis pulchella, not of this specimenIsopterygiopsis pulchella (Hedw.) Z.Iwats.1853T. P. James
A photograph of the species Leskea polycarpa, not of this specimenLeskea polycarpa Hedw.1853T. P. James

All 1,715 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 18 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 18 workings within 5 miles of Emerson House: 15 past producers, 2 producers, 1 plant. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Groveland PitStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Trimount Bituminous Prdts CoStone, Crushed/BrokenPlant
Center Street PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
City of HaverhillSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
East Broadway PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Haverhill PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Haverhill Sand CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Haverhill Sand Company PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Heath PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Henry D Lay PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Essex County

Storms near this property

23 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Haverhill, the town this property stands in, in 23 storm reports between 1998 and 2021: 10 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 4 lightning, 2 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2005LightningHaverhill$75,000no account filed
April 2007FloodHaverhill$45,000Flooding affected several homes in Danvers, and closed a portion of Bridge Street in Salem.|Minor to moderate flooding affected the larger mainstem rivers in the Merrimack basin. The Merrimack River at Lowell crested at 58.1 feet at 7 pm on the 17th (flood stage is 52 feet) which is the fifth highest flood on record. In Haverhill, it crested at 17.6 feet at 230 am on the 18th (flood stage is 15 feet) while in Lawrence, a crest of 29 feet was reported at 9 am on the 18th (flood stage is 20 feet). The Spicket River at Methuen crested at 9 feet at 145 pm on the 18th (flood stage is 8 feet). The Concord River at Lowell crested at 8.4 feet at 1 am on the 19th (flood stage is 8 feet).
February 2008FloodHaverhill$30,000In Haverhill, Winter Street and North Avenue were flooded. In addition, vehicles were stuck in flood waters on Parsonage Hill Road. Spotters reported that the road was begining to wash away. Canal Street in Salem was flooded with three to four feet of water on the roadway. In Groveland, Balch Avenue was flooded near its intersection with Route 113.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHaverhill$25,000Trees and wires were downed by thunderstorm winds in Haverhill and Groveland.
July 2010Thunderstorm WindHaverhill$25,000Thunderstorm winds brought down a large branch and wires on West Broadway Street.
July 2014Thunderstorm WindHaverhill$10,000Trees and wires were downed on Shawmut Avenue in Haverhill.
July 2005Thunderstorm WindHaverhill$10,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindHaverhill$7,000Trees and wires on Corliss Hill Road and South Williams Street were downed by thunderstorm winds. Also, a tree was downed onto a car at the intersection of Broadway and Lake Streets. This tree blocked Broadway, causing traffic to be rerouted.
June 2018LightningHaverhill$5,000At 6:36 PM EST lightning struck a house on Solitaire Drive in Haverhill.
July 2016Thunderstorm WindHaverhill$5,000A tree on Liberty Street was downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2005LightningHaverhill$5,000no account filed
August 2005LightningHaverhill$5,000no account filed
July 2021HailHaverhill-In Haverhill, quarter size hail was reported at 520 PM EDT (420 PM EST). It had begun as nickel size hail fifteen minutes earlier.
March 2020HailHaverhill-Dime size hail was reported in Haverhill at 802 PM EST.
July 2020HailHaverhill-In Haverhill, dime size hail was reported.
July 2010HailHaverhill-Ping pong ball sized hail was reported in Haverhill.
June 2007Thunderstorm WindHaverhill-Trees down on several roads.
June 2007HailHaverhill-Penny size hail in Haverhill.
September 2002Heavy RainHaverhill-no account filed
July 2001Thunderstorm WindHaverhill-no account filed
July 1999Thunderstorm WindHaverhill-no account filed
July 1999HailHaverhill-no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindHaverhill-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Essex County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

1,519 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is reproduced in full on its own page, word for word and never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

The whole case file for this property - 1,519 words, 12 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 90000229, 12 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Winter Street School0.2 miles2017
Primrose Street Schoolhouse0.3 miles1983
Merrimack Associates Building0.4 miles2009
Hayes, Charles H., Building0.4 miles2010
School Street School0.5 miles1986
Haverhill Board of Trade Building0.5 miles2007

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 90000229 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Essex CountyAll 350 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.